Monday, December 27, 2010

Tipsy Cherry Fudge

Apparently, if you mention on twitter that you're drowning cherries in rum, people get very excited about the recipe you're making. It was a new recipe I was trying, so I wanted to make sure it turned out before I shared it. It did, so here you go. (Also, I have provided helpful commentary.)

Tipsy Cherry Fudge (This is a bit of a misnomer. The cherries are not tipsy. The cherries are drunk.)

Soak 8 oz. of dried cherries in your choice of liquor overnight. (Rum, brandy, bourbon, whiskey were all suggested. I used rum. Also, the cherries will plump up as they soak, so be sure to use enough to account for this.) When you're ready to make the fudge, drain and save the liquid, and pat the cherries dry.

The original recipe said to butter a 9- or 10-inch pan, and then layer the ingredients so that when the fudge is set, you can turn the pan upside down and have the nuts and cherries on top. I used an 8x10 inch pan, and then required the assistance of my Ironman brother who has an engineering degree to remove the fudge. If I were to make the recipe again, I would line the pan with wax paper to make removal easy, omit the nuts (because I'm not a fan of nuts in fudge) and mix the cherries into the chocolate. But, if you want to be a traditionalist, toast 6 oz. of chopped pecans, and spread them in the bottom of the pan. Then layer the cherries on top of the nuts.

Melt together one bag semisweet chocolate chips, one bag butterscotch chips, and one can sweetened condensed milk. Stir in one teaspoon of the reserved liquor from the cherries. Pour the chocolate mixture over the nuts and cherries (The recipe said pour. I would have used the verb "smooth." What you have is not of a loose enough consistency to pour.)

Refrigerate until set, and then cut into whatever size pieces you like.

Please note that you are not cooking the alcohol off. In other words, if you eat too many pieces at one sitting, it may not just be the cherries that are tipsy.